Men's Lacrosse Drops GNAC Opener at Dean, 13-9

FRANKLIN, Mass. – The Emmanuel College men's lacrosse team (0-7, 0-1 GNAC) fell, 13-9, to Dean College (5-1, 2-0 GNAC) in their Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener.

Senior Diego Alvarez-Segee (Saugus, Mass.) scored seven times to go with an assist and five ground balls to pace the Bulldogs. First-year Manny Alvarez-Segee (Saugus, Mass.) contributed four goals and an assist, while senior Alec Speirs (Old Lyme, Conn.) chipped in with two goals and an assist. Senior Tyler Benedetto (Jupiter, Fla.) controlled the faceoff circle winning 18-of-24. He added a game best nine ground balls. 

Junior Sanzio DiGesualdo (Niskayuna, N.Y.) and first-year Cooper Mehlhorn (South Portland, Maine) each had two goals and an assist to lead Emmanuel. Senior Thomas Quigley (Marblehead, Mass.) added a goal and two assists.

First-year Elijah Beland (Augusta, Maine) earned the win in goal for the Bulldogs with nine saves. Senior Eric Anderson (Sparta, N.J.) allowed 12 goals and made 19 saves for the Saints. First-year Jake Reeves (Brunswick, Maine) stopped one shot and allowed a goal in two minutes of action.

DiGesualdo opened the game with two goals in the first 3:27 of the contest to give the Saints the lead. Manny Alvarez-Segee got the Bulldogs on the board shortly later, but the visitors tacked on two more goals to take a 4-1 advantage into the second.

The Bulldogs scored three times to tie the game at 4-4, less than five minutes into the second. Diego Alvarez-Segee scored two in that stretch. Sophomore Samuel Yan (Cranston, R.I.) put Emmanuel back on top before Dean responded a minute later with a goal by Speirs. Each team was held off the scoreboard for the final 7:50 of the quarter for a 5-5 tie at the break.

Emmanuel retook the lead, 1:02 into the third, on a man-up goal from junior Ryan Etzo (Bedford, N.H.). Manny Alvarez-Segee scored the equalizer 1:30 later before older brother Diego added two goals for an 8-6 Dean lead after three quarters.

The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 11-6, six minutes into the fourth, and held at least a 4-goal advantage for the remainder of the game.

Dean  travels to Norwich on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. game that will not count towards the GNAC standings. Emmanuel (0-7, 0-1 GNAC, 0-1 GNAC North) hosts Anna Maria on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

**Story Courtesy of Dean College Sports Information